The monthly trade deficit decreased by 34% in May 2023, to TND 1,485.3 million from TND 2,251.3 million in April, according to a report released by the National Institute of Statistics (INS) on Wednesday. In a report on "foreign trade at current prices" for May 20-23, the INS said that the import-export ratio increased by 10 points compared to April, reaching 78.6%. In May, trade was characterised by a strong recovery in exports, which rose by 10.9% on the month, while imports fell by 3.2%. Excluding energy products, exports remained dynamic with an increase of 9.6%, while imports stagnated at 0.5%. Exports rebounded strongly, with a monthly increase of 10.9%. All sectors made a positive contribution to this growth. In particular, the machinery and equipment sector accounted for almost half of this increase, with a 9% rise mainly due to exports of electric wires and cables to Germany. In addition, textiles, textile products and leather recorded an increase of 12.9%, supported by higher clothing exports. Energy and lubricants and mining, phosphate and non-metallic mineral products grew by 36.9% and 30.5% respectively, after posting significant falls in April. Finally, agriculture and food and miscellaneous manufacturing recorded more modest increases of 6.3% and 2.4% respectively. Imports down by 3.2% Imports fell by 3.2%, mainly due to a decline in imports of energy products, which fell by 16.5% after a significant increase in the previous month. In addition, after two consecutive months of growth, imports of equipment fell by 13.8%. Imports of consumer goods also decreased by 4%, mainly due to lower car imports. On the other hand, imports of food rose sharply by 51.3%, after a significant decline in April. This increase was mainly due to a rise in grain imports. Raw materials imports remained stable at +0.2%. Exports to the European Union increased by 6.5%, mainly due to a rise in exports to France (+14.6%), Italy (+9.4%) and Spain (+39.1%). Outside Europe, exports to Switzerland (+55.6%), Turkey (+63%) and the United States (+14.1%) improved strongly, while they fell by 10% to the Maghreb countries. Imports from the European Union increased by 3.8%, in particular from Italy (+6.7%), the Netherlands (+52.5%) and Belgium (+20.6%), despite significantly lower imports from France (-7.1%) and Germany (-10%). Outside Europe, imports increased by 7.9%, mainly as a result of a sharp decline in imports from Algeria (-23.5%), due to lower gas imports. Purchases from the United Kingdom (-44.9%) and Switzerland (-44.7%) fell, while they rose slightly from Russia (+4.9%), the United States (+5%) and China (+2.5%).
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse